WOMAD

Rachid Taha

From Algeria, France

Rachid's "Bonjour" is no ordinary greeting. It is not the standard "bonjour" uttered reflexively. Since the 80s, Rachid has been consolidating his musical world on the basis of the exchange, movement and circulation of people, ideas, cultures and sounds. From rai to rock and electro to song, his landscape has continued to broaden. Now, on this new album, it forms an expanding, increasingly fertile, fresh-flowing confluent where he invites his listeners to take part in unforgettable festivities. This time, he has headed out West, recording the album in New York. The America Rachid loves is an idiosyncratic one, gleaned from John Ford westerns, Johnny Cash's country music and Elvis Presley's rock 'n' roll. Yet it is also that nerve centre that transforms and returns the raw material supplied by its immigrants.

Love might seem a very commonplace subject, but sung from the heart, it can brighten any tune. Rachid understands this. with Bonjour (Hello) sung in Arabic and French with Gaëtan Roussel .A famously sensitive and committed artist, Rachid has experienced too many personal and collective rifts to turn his back on the pain of exile, reawakened here with This is an Arabian song. Elsewhere, Rachid reflects on the fraternal bond between Jews and Arabs, (Mabrouk aalik). This has always been the way on Rachid's albums. There is a time for love and a time for thought; a time for dreams and a time for memories. Then there is obviously a time for dancing, with the uncompromising Mindjey. In this sound environment where all cultures finally meet and exchange greetings, Rachid is reconciled with his different selves. He has often wondered, "Am I Oriental or disoriented?" Here he provides the irrefutable answer: a record that bridges two cultures.

(Biography and photograph supplied by artist management 2010)

Rachid Taha- Rock El Casba

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